WDC advocates KP definition expansion
Needed
Widening of definition in
addressing
mineral related systemic violence
With
2019 being the final year of the Kimberley Process' three-year review, the
organization must grasp an historic opportunity to correct shortfalls in the
system designed to prevent conflict diamonds from entering the chain of
distribution, World Diamond Council (WDC) President Stephane Fischler will tell
a special meeting on the role of diamonds in fueling conflict, which is being
conducted today in New York as part the United Nations General Assembly's 73rd
Session.
Mr.
Fischler will speak on behalf of the diamond and jewelry industries in the
session entitled "From blood diamonds to peace diamonds: conflict
prevention through the Kimberley Process," and specifically address the
topic of the KP as both a conflict prevention tool and a facilitator of
sustainable development, good governance and transparency.
The
session is being hosted by the European Union and will be attended by both the
2019 Chair of the Kimberley Process, Alok Chaturvedi of India, and the 2018 KP
Chair, Hilde Hardeman of the European Commission, as well as by representatives
of government, industry, civil society and academia.
In
his address to the gathering Mr. Fischler will note that, while the UN-mandated
Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, which was launched in 2003, has proven
itself successful in stemming the flow of diamonds that were financing rebel
forces in civil wars, it has not been successful in addressing other types of
mineral-related conflict, and in particular systemic violence in the mining
areas.
Since
much of the latter has occurred in places where small-scale and artisanal
mining is conducted, the KP has not met its potential as a facilitator of
capacity building and sustainable economic development, Mr. Fischler will say.
However,
by adopting a number of urgently-required reforms at the conclusion of its
current review process, the KP has the capacity to correct its limitations, the
WDC President will stress. These include improving the KP standards and
modalities, such as the peer review mechanism; raising the level of
representation and participation in the body, both by governments and the
United Nations; improving the gathering and flow of essential data; and
creating a permanent secretariat, which will be staffed by full-time
professionals.
Critically,
Mr. Fischler will stress, the Kimberley Process must galvanize its absolute
commitment to its conflict-prevention mission, and this he said will require
the expansion of the definition of "conflict diamonds" to cover all
forms of systemic violence, including those carried out by state and private
security forces.
A
proposal to this effect was put forward by the Government of Canada at last
November's KP Plenary Meeting in Brussels, and was supported by both the
industry and civil society participants in the tripartite forum. The WDC
President will call on the KP to achieve consensus on the issue before the end
of the year.
While
it waits for action from the Kimberley Process, Mr. Fischler will tell the
gathering, the World Diamond Council is already conducting reforms of its own,
to enable at the industry-level the type of progress it is advocating for the KP.
These include a revised System of Warranties, tracking both rough and polished
diamonds all the way to the jewelry retailer, which now expressly reference
human rights and strict labor practices, and also support the OECD Due
Diligence Guidelines for Minerals from High-Risk Areas.
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